MANHATTAN, Kan. - A day after placing a league-high five players on the Preseason All-Big 12 team, Kansas State was picked to finish sixth in the 2013 Big 12 football race by media representatives who cover the league, the conference office announced Wednesday.

The Wildcats, one of six schools to receive first-place votes, picked up 240 points in the poll to rank just behind fifth-place Baylor (282). Oklahoma State was picked to win the league with 365 points, while Oklahoma (355), TCU (347) and Texas (337) rounded out a very tightly-contested top six.

Being picked in the middle of the pack is not an uncommon occurrence for the Wildcats as they were picked to finish sixth and eighth, respectively, over the last two seasons before responding with a combined 21-5 record during that span. The 2011 squad went on to finish 10-3 and played in the AT&T Cotton Bowl before last year's record-breaking team finished 11-2, climbed to No. 1 in the national rankings, won the Big 12 Championship and played in the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl.

K-State opens its doors to the new West Stadium Center and kicks off the 2013 season by welcoming two-time defending FCS National Champion North Dakota State in a special Friday-night contest on August 30. The contest is slated for a 7:30 p.m., kickoff and will be televised by nationally by FOX Sports 1.